


What They Owe Us

by ironspidereilish



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Aredian is the worst person ever, BAMF Arthur Pendragon, Canon Era, Hurt Merlin (Merlin), Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magic, Magic Reveal, Magic Revealed, Merthur - Freeform, Poverty, Protective Arthur Pendragon, Romance, Starvation, and also we deserve for them to have a happy ending, and he gets it :), hunger, mentioned non-con, merlin needs a hug, our boys getting a happy ending like they deserve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:14:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22613125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ironspidereilish/pseuds/ironspidereilish
Summary: When Arthur finds out that the castle staff are having their wages held for weeks at a time and can no longer afford food or their homes, he will not rest until they are protected and Aredian is stopped.The fact that Merlin’s stomach is rumbling while he delivers the prince his breakfast, and Arthur hates the thought of him suffering, only serves as extra motivation to fix this.
Relationships: Gaius & Merlin (Merlin), Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 38
Kudos: 1222





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first merthur fic and i hope you like it! i still think it’s a crime that the bbc didn’t make them canon but that’s what ao3 is for :))

It was Merlin’s nineteenth day of sharing the small meals the castle provided for Gaius, and he was  _ famished _ . This was why, when he leaned over to serve Arthur his large cooked breakfast, he got one whiff of fried bacon and his stomach growled. Arthur looked up at him, annoyance etched all over his face. 

“Merlin, I understand you forget the most basic tasks sometimes, but I really don’t want to be hearing the inner workings of your stomach today. I don’t expect much of you in the morning except that you eat your breakfast and then bring me mine. Was that too much to ask?” 

Merlin was so preoccupied looking at the perfectly cooked yolk on the prince’s plate that he wasn’t sure he’d heard what Arthur has said correctly. He dragged his gaze away from the breakfast to look Arthur in the eye, something jealous stirring in his empty gut.

“Well that’s been a little difficult for a couple of weeks, and probably will be next week too,” Merlin blurted before he’d thought the words through. Once he’d registered what he’d said he wanted to kick himself. 

Arthur looked at him like he’d gone insane. 

“Oh really?” he asked with blatantly false curiosity. “And why might that be?”

A blush rose to the servant’s cheeks. “Food costs money, sire.”

“I would have thought that being the personal manservant to the crown prince would have been more than enough for you to at least be able to afford food,” Arthur sounded unsure, and Merlin realised that Arthur had never had to worry about money. He’d always had the royal fortune at his disposal, with his food supplied to him. He’d never been employed, or had to live his life worried about when his next wages would come. 

“It is enough, when I actually get given my pay,” he said carefully, but suddenly found himself  _ wanting  _ Arthur to know what was happening with the castle wages. He  _ wanted  _ his friend to know how badly he and the other staff members were suffering; maybe he could help them.

The blonde put his cutlery down and stood up, sitting on the edge of his bed and pulling a chair up for the dark-haired man to sit opposite him. Merlin did, and then they were suddenly eye to eye and the prince’s expression was serious.

“You never avoid answering a question,” Arthur began, and his voice was kind, “not around me. So we can either drop this altogether until you’re ready to open up to me, or you can tell me what’s going on now, and I promise that if you’re in some kind of money trouble I’ll do what I can to help you.”

The servant’s heart did a funny kind of flip at the care his prince was showing him. Arthur would really help him out if he was in debt? 

“I want you to know,” Merlin whispered. “You  _ need _ to know what’s going on.” 

The blonde took the servant’s hand in his own, running his thumb lightly over the soft skin on the back of his hand in comfort.

“I’m here, whatever it is that you need to tell me, I’m here to listen to you.”

Merlin exhaled, surprised at how shaky it sounded. 

“Our wages have been getting held from us. The person who’s supposed to give them to us every week keeps withholding them. And even when we  _ are _ given them, he’s usually taken some of it. This is the longest he’s kept us without money though,” the servant said quietly, knowing that wasn’t going to be nearly enough information for Arthur. 

“How long this time?” the prince asked, his voice hard.

“Three weeks so far.”

“ _ Three weeks? _ ” Arthur repeated, disbelievingly. “How long has this been going on for?” 

Merlin sighed, knowing his next answer wasn’t going to be well-received. “A little over two years. But he’s never held wages more than two weeks.”

Something cold flickered behind Arthur’s eyes. “What about the staff with families? Or the staff who need to pay rent?”

The servant shrugged, but squeezed Arthur’s hand. “He doesn’t care about that. The first time he kept our pay, I started giving my savings to the families who couldn’t afford food, or those who had the harsher landlords that would have made them homeless. From then on I started saving as much as I could from the wages we  _ did  _ get, so I could keep helping them. George and Gwen do too, and some of the other upper staff who live in the castle, since they don’t have to pay rent either.” 

Arthur was silent, his face set in an unsure frown. After a few moments of this, he pulled his gaze to Merlin. 

“You never told me,” the blonde murmured, and Merlin’s heart clenched painfully. There was something unreadable in his voice, and it wasn’t a question but Merlin felt that he deserved an answer. 

“I know, and I’m sorry, Arthur. I wanted to, but the other staff thought Aredian might get worse if he found out we’d told someone. He might have gotten  _ worse _ \- we couldn’t risk that he’d start taking months at a time instead of weeks. Please don’t take it personally.”

Arthur scoffed, and the servant instantly knew exactly how he’d interpreted Merlin’s words. 

“You really thought I’d let him continue taking your money even if you’d told me what was going on? That I’d just go about my day knowing that the people working for me were starving?”

He wasn’t angry, he was hurt. 

“No, of  _ course _ not, you absolute dollophead,” Merlin said, exasperated, and Arthur smiled at the nickname. “But we can’t prove that he’s keeping our money. There’s no evidence.”

“I believe you, Merlin,” the prince said, and the word were so matter of fact that the servant felt himself smile, too. “I don’t need evidence.”

“Aredian is of noble blood, Arthur. Your father hired the man himself. That means that the king has to be the one to fire him, and he’d never believe servants over a noble.” 

Arthur gripped his hand tightly, “I’m going to fix this.”

Merlin gave him a small smile, before his stomach growled again and he laughed awkwardly. The prince pulled their hands apart and stood to grab his breakfast plate, he turned and handed it to Merlin before sitting back on his bed. The servant just looked at him in confusion, and Arthur felt his heart stutter painfully.

“ _ Eat _ ,” he encouraged. “I can get the kitchen to bring up more food later, but right now you need to get some food in you.”

“Thank you,” Merlin said quietly, before picking up the cutlery and starting to eat. They sat in comfortable silence as Merlin ate, before he put the cutlery down and looked at Arthur; he knew the blonde would have more questions.

“How do you buy food when he’s keeping your money?” the prince asked, his voice carefully even.

The servant shrugged, already feeling some energy return to him from the food. “I don’t. Any money I have I give to the families.”

“You haven’t eaten in  _ three weeks _ ?” Arthur blurted, aghast.

The dark-haired man looked at him as though he’d lost his mind. “Of course I’ve eaten, you prat. Gaius makes me share every meal they bring him. I learnt the hard way that saying no to him wasn’t an option,” he grinned. 

_ That was a good point, _ Arthur thought,  _ why hadn’t Gaius been buying Merlin food if he couldn’t afford it himself _ ? 

Merlin must have seen the realisation dawn on him, because he answered without even being asked.

“Gaius doesn’t get paid for his work,” Merlin said, all traces of his previous grin gone. 

The prince’s eyes widened.

“He doesn’t get paid  _ anything _ ?”

The servant shook his head, and if the small smile playing at his lips was anything to go by, he was at least somewhat amused by Arthur’s naïveity about how wages work. 

“He lives in the castle and receives his meals for free, and all of his equipment and ingredients are charged to the castle, so he doesn’t get his own pay. I think the work is supposed to be rewarding of its own volition,” Merlin said, and his voice softened as he continued. “It had never bothered him before, but seeing what was happening with our wages being kept? I don’t think he’d ever felt so helpless.”

Suddenly, the empty plate was being lifted off of his lap and he was pulled into Arthur’s arms. Merlin shamelessly wrapped his arms around the prince’s shoulders and tucked his head into the warmth where his neck met his shoulder. His breathing hitched as he let a few tears spill out, too tired to stop them. Arthur tightened the hug and pressed a soft kiss to his hairline.

It had been so long since he’d allowed himself to wallow in the unfairness of the whole situation. 

“I’m so sorry you had to go through this, Merlin, truly,” the blonde said quietly, his cheek resting against the crown of Merlin’s head as he held him. “I’m going to fix this. I promise.”

The servant exhaled. “I know you will. I never doubted you- and I’m sorry if I made you feel as though I didn’t trust you with this.”

“What’s done is done. I know it wasn’t personal, he’s a noble, so I understand that you were just looking out for me.” The  _ as usual _ was unspoken but heard by them both. 

After a few moments, Arthur lifted his head in realisation. 

“The families!” He blurted ineloquently. “If the money you were giving them was so they weren’t made homeless how were they eating?”

Merlin shifted awkwardly in the prince’s lap, avoiding eye contact until Arthur cupped his cheek and guided his head up to look at him. 

The blonde was struck, and not for the first time, thinking about how he could look at Merlin for years and still not find it enough. 

Arthur sensed the reluctance radiating from the servant, and felt a small pang of hurt in his stomach that Merlin wanted to keep something from him.

“Whatever it is, you can tell me. They were doing what they had to in order to survive.” He realised then that although he knew Merlin had been struggling, he hadn’t grouped his suffering in with the severity of what he imagined it had been like for the other staff. But just because the thought his friend starving for weeks invited a rage inside him like no other, it didn’t mean that Merlin hadn’t also had to act desperately. “You were  _ all _ doing what you had to.”

The tears glistening in Merlin’s eyes caught him off guard.

“Whatever it is, you can tell me,” the blonde repeated, his voice so soft that the servant shivered. 

“We stole,” Merlin whispered, and Arthur would be lying if he said he hadn’t been expecting it. “From the castle, I mean. All the food that was close to spoiling we helped the staff take for their children. B-but it was barely enough for the children, let alone their parents.” The blonde couldn’t help but notice that Merlin’s voice had turned desperate, and he reminded him once again that no punishments would come from this. “I  _ know _ we aren’t in trouble,” Merlin said, his voice now uncharacteristically angry. “Anyway, Aredian knew the staff were taking food, and he threatened to tell your father. But he’s not stupid so he  _ knew _ that they weren’t taking enough to feed themselves too, because then someone would realise how quickly the kitchen was getting through food. He  _ knew,  _ Arthur, he knew how hungry we were and he still- he-“

Merlin choked on his words and pulled himself off of Arthur’s lap and onto the chair opposite him, so he could draw his knees to his chest and wrap his arms around them to ground him. A few hiccuping sobs escaped him before he carried on, not looking at Arthur. Not wanting to see the disgust that he was sure to see manifesting on his face as Merlin continued. 

“He knew how desperate some of the women were to keep their loved ones fed,” the servant’s voice was soft now, fragile. “So he started offering some of us the option to …  _ earn _ food from him. Fresh food. Enough to feed one person for at least a couple of days, or a good couple of meals for a whole family.”

Arthur’s gut twisted horribly and he fought the nausea rising in his stomach. He could guess exactly what actions might  _ earn  _ them their basic right to food.

“They had no choice, Arthur,” Merlin said, and his voice was  _ wrecked _ , devastation etched so deeply into every syllable that Arthur felt himself fall apart at the sound. “There was nothing I could do to stop them. They  _ had to. _ ”

“ _ None of this _ was your fault, Merlin. You did everything possible to help them, and I’m so proud of you for that. All of this is Aredian’s fault.  _ Everything _ that happened is on him.”

He tried to ignore the traitorous thoughts that he should have known, somehow, what was happening to his staff and figured out a way to protect them. He could lead men valiantly into war but he couldn’t stop one of his father’s employees from exploiting the hundred or so people who served him everyday? The people that his knight’s vow had made him swear to protect? He’d walked past these people in the castle corridors everyday, not knowing they could no longer pay rent, he’d had them prepare him three meals a day, not knowing they couldn’t afford food for themselves … and how many times had he probably complained about his food not being cooked exactly the way he liked it  _ in front of Merlin _ , oblivious to the fact that his friend was starving? 

The servants warm hands touching his cheeks to brush away the falling tears was the only reason he knew that he’d started crying. His face flamed with embarrassment, his father screaming a litany of  _ Pendragons don’t cry, Arthur!  _ in his mind. 

Arthur ignored his father’s exclamations, and cupped Merlin’s hands in place on his cheeks. His vision was watery through his tears, but he focused on looking the servant in the eye. 

“I’m going to talk to my father and get this fixed.”

“Then I’m coming with you,” Merlin said, leaving no room for debate.

Arthur nodded, having expected it, and they both stood and left the chambers.

The prince felt the absence of warmth from Merlin’s hands holding his cheeks like a personal loss.

***

The guards outside the great hall opened the doors without hesitation, especially spurred on by the determined look on their prince’s face. 

Arthur burst into the room, Merlin barely a step behind him, and immediately went and stood before his father, who was eating his lunch alone as he overlooked paperwork and tactical plans. The sight of several plates piled high before the king for him to pick and choose between as he wished had Arthur’s stomach churning. He consciously reminded himself that his father had no idea that the people preparing it and serving it to him were starving. 

“Father,” Arthur began, and Uther finally dragged his gaze away from the papers to look to his son. “There is an urgent matter to which we must respond, regarding the safety of those working in the castle.”

The king waved a hand lazily, signalling the blonde to continue.

“Aredian has been stealing the staff’s wages, pocketing their salaries for weeks at a time, or heavily dipping into their weekly pay when he  _ does  _ decide to give it to them. We need to replace his position as soon as we can, and get him to return the money that they have rightfully earned.” Arthur’s voice was strong in the face of his father’s disinterest, and Merlin’s heart swelled with pride.

Uther’s gaze narrowed. 

“I suppose your beloved  _ manservant  _ told you all of this, did he?” the king said, disdain dripping from the words. 

“Yes,  _ Merlin  _ told me, but I don’t see-“

“No, you  _ don’t _ see,” Uther snarled, interrupting his son’s protests. “That’s the problem, Arthur. One word from your little pet and you’re doing exactly as he bids. Do you not see how tightly he has you wrapped around his finger? You stand before  _ your king _ and ask for me to fire a man of noble blood and reimburse a large sum of money to your servant simply because he said you should! It’s outrageous.”

Something dark and ugly thrummed through Arthur’s veins. 

“ _ Father _ ,” he snapped, struggling to stay composed, “our staff- that we have sworn to protect- are struggling to make ends meet! We have a duty to help them, especially when the solution is so obvious!”

“ _ Aredian is of noble blood!”  _ Uther half-shouted. “If there is no compelling evidence of his guilt than I have no choice than to assume that your servant is incapable of handling his finances and is manipulating you into getting him money from Aredian.”

Merlin’s vision burned red with anger, and he felt his magic claw at his skin as it fought to escape. 

“I would  _ never  _ manipulate Arthur,” he argued, fists clenched. “Your people are being made homeless, the staff with families no longer have the coin they need to feed their children, and it is all because Aredian  _ is keeping our money from us.” _

Uther stood from his chair so quickly that it went sliding back across the hall. His face was blazing.

“How  _ dare  _ a servant address me in such a manner! And demand that I punish a noble man based on unproven accusations from a lowly peasant!” 

He stepped towards Merlin, who was stood at his son’s side, but between one blink and the next Arthur had pushed the servant behind him. One of his arms was outstretched to protect the man from his father, something fierce etched over the blonde’s face as his other hand rested on the hilt of his sword. 

“You will not harm Merlin,” Arthur said tightly, and Uther’s eyes widened slightly as he registered that his son had given  _ him  _ an order. “Our staff cannot afford food or a home, father, and it is Aredian’s fault. If you will not dismiss him, I have no choice but to imprison him on the grounds of mass theft, betraying the king, and causing extreme consequences for those impacted by his actions. He will be given the option to either return the money to the staff whom it belongs to, or he will be stripped of his noble title and banished. If he does not return the wages, the staff will be reimbursed from the castle’s next few tax collections -taxes that they will remain exempt from until the full salaries owed to them have been given- however long that might take.”

Something seemed to spark in Uther, and he stepped towards his son with an arm outstretched. Unsure of his intentions, Arthur pushed Merlin back further, but stepped forward himself to keep more distance between his friend and his father.

Uther’s hand squeezed his shoulder and Arthur met his father’s eyes in surprise, surprise which only grew when he saw a proud smile on the king’s face that couldn’t quite be kept hidden. 

“ _ That  _ is how you stand up for what you believe in, my son. Although I do not believe these accusations against a man of such nobility, I do not see the harm in having a guard send for him so you can ask him some questions.”

“Thank you, father,” Arthur said, sincerely. A guard that had been stationed inside the hall next to to door nodded at the unspoken order, and left to collect Aredian. 

“Do not thank me yet, Arthur. When Aredian’s answers prove to me that your boy was lying, I will punish him as I see fit, is that understood?”

Automatically, a disagreement was rising in his throat, but soft hands enveloping one of his own calloused hands was enough to still him. He looked to Merlin silently, a question in his eyes. 

“I’m not lying,” the servant said, leaning forward so their foreheads were touching and he was speaking quietly enough for only the blonde to hear him. “So there is nothing to fear, we will find a way to get him to confess. Please don’t anger your father, Arthur, not because of me.”

The prince placed his free hand over Merlin’s and sighed. 

“I hope you’re right about getting him to confess,” he whispered, before addressing his father. “I agree to the terms, on the condition that I speak to him alone during his questioning. I will return to you when I’m finished and have a confession.”

“Or evidence that your serving boy is manipulating you,” Uther stated, and the prince felt anger course through him. 

“Yes,” the blonde answered tightly, through gritted teeth. 

The king’s eyes flickered over his son, something akin to pride hiding there, unmentioned. “Very well,” Uther said, “inform me of the results when you’ve extracted them.”

Without waiting for agreement, the king left the hall. Merlin and Arthur stood in silence for a few moments after the doors were shut behind him. 

“I’m sorry that this is how my father regards the opinions of anyone that isn’t of noble blood,” Arthur eventually said, the thought having troubled him for years but today having bought it to the forefront of his mind. He found himself unable to look Merlin in the eye, shame flushing his cheeks a light blush. “Just because a person’s of noble blood doesn’t mean they’re of noble actions.” 

He heard Merlin shrug next to him. “You believed me, and you know that blood doesn’t determine a person’s worth.”

The servant clearly found Arthur’s trust to be the only one that mattered. 

“My knights of the round table are the finest fighters I know, and most of them are not nobles. I learnt a long time ago that blood has no bearing.”

“And you have me,” Merlin said, evenly. The deeper implications of that statement had Arthur’s gaze rushing up to meet the servant’s. “I will always serve you, for as long as you’ll let me.”

The prince felt dizzy with the sincerity in Merlin’s voice. “Thank you,” he said, voice choked up with emotion, “old friend.”

Merlin smiled brightly and squeezed his shoulder, before the hall door swung open and Aredian was standing in front of them. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i wrote 1500 more words today and wanted to post them asap instead of waiting to finish the entire second half- i hope u don't mind too much!!- i promise promise promise that the final chapter will be up by the end of the week <3 (i finished a whole uni assignment today so i'll probably be able to post the last part by thursday/friday)

“Your highness,” Aredian greeted with a bow not quite deep enough to convey respect. “I was told you wished to ask me something?”

“A reliable source has suggested that there are a few ongoing issues with wages, I was wondering what you had to say about this,” Arthur said, his voice conveying all the accusation that his words couldn’t. 

“Would this …  _ reliable source _ ,” he spat, as though the words left a foul taste in his mouth, “be referring to the deductions that have been taking place on recent pay?”

“Withholding pay for weeks at a time when castle staff require the money they have earned in order to feed their families and pay their rent is not a  _ deduction _ Aredian. It is a crime.” 

“But we cannot have  _ peasants  _ thinking that the bare minimum work will permit them their wages,” the old man argued, as though it was perfectly reasonable logic. 

Merlin saw Arthur’s fists clench behind his back, and stepped forward to stand at his side, uncaring of the way Aredian eyed the movement like he took personal offence. The prince’s anger dissipated somewhat when he felt Merlin’s calming presence at his side.

“If you believed there was an issue with the staff, you should not have sought to solve it. That is the job of my father and I, not  _ you _ . Nevertheless, starving and homeless staff perform even less efficiently than those who are well fed and have a home- it is not difficult to grasp this concept Aredian. I have seen no faults from the staff, so your harsh actions were both unwarranted  _ and  _ illegal.”

“But sire-“

“Do you admit to having stolen wages from every member of castle staff that we employ, often for weeks at a time?” Arthur interrupted. He didn’t care for the excuses of the manipulative man stood before him. 

“Yes but only to-“

“Get on your knees,” the blonde ordered of Aredian, and Merlin turned to look at him in confusion. 

“Wh-what?” Aredian stammered, feeling like he was suddenly losing a game he had planned to win at all costs. 

“You heard me. Get on your knees.”

When Aredian stood there, adamantly refusing to kneel before his prince, Merlin allowed himself to magic the man’s knees into buckling, closing his eyes to hide the golden glow. Aredian let out a small noise of pain as his knees slammed into the stone floor before Arthur.

“You will be now tried for the other crimes that you are accused of.”

“That requires a jury,” Aredian rushed, desperation tinging the words. “To give fair punishment.”

Arthur shook his head. “That’s what Merlin and I are here for. We will decide that for you.”

The servant couldn’t keep his small smile in check when he saw Aredian pale as he glanced between the two men standing above him him.

The prince turned to his servant and murmured “I think we’re going to enjoy this.”

He turned back to the man kneeling before them.

“How do you plead to the accusation of stealing wages from every member of staff within the castle?” Arthur’s voice was hard, his eyes unforgiving.

“It was to  _ help  _ y-“

“ _ How do you plead?”  _ Arthur repeated, uncaring for excuses.

Aredian was silent a moment, before he spoke again, quietly. “Guilty.”

“How do you plead to the accusation of exploiting desperate staff-  _ assaulting  _ them under the pretence of a fair exchange?”

“I would never-“

“ _ Liar!” _ Merlin snarled, and the prince’s eyes widened at the venom in his servant’s voice. “Thirteen women and four men. Five of them are barely sixteen summers old.”

Aredian’s gaze dropped to the floor, his shoulders hunched over in defeat. Neither man felt a drop of sympathy for him. It was impossible to, under the burning rage thrumming through their veins. 

“So I ask you again,” Arthur stated, in a tone strongly implying that he did not like to have to repeat himself, “how do you plead to this charge?”

“Guilty,” the man said, resignedly. 

The prince clapped his hands together and Aredian startled beneath them.

“That concludes today’s trial,” he announced, unnecessary to point out to an audience of three. “Aredian, you will be sentenced to twenty-one lashes, one for each person you blackmailed into warming your bed against their will, and an extra five for each one who was barely older than a child. You will also be exiled, with return resulting in execution, and you will be paying back every coin that you stole.”

“Sire, I don’t-”

“ _ Enough _ ,” Arthur interrupted, before he could try to weasel his way out of fair judgement. “That is your punishment.”

At that moment, the doors opened and the king strode in and sat on his throne. He glanced at Arthur for an explanation, who gladly obliged.

“Aredian confessed to stealing the wages he was accused of, and seventeen cases of assault.”

Uther’s eyes snapped to the man kneeling on the floor. “Assault?” he echoed, sounding uncharacteristically caught off guard. 

“He thought that it would be appropriate to withhold wages for so long that the staff could no longer afford food or rent, and then offered the opportunity to . . .  _ earn _ enough food for their families. It was endured, not consented to,” Arthur explained, his voice wavering slightly.

Something blazed in the king’s eyes, something inciting fear into Merlin on  _ behalf  _ of Aredian- despite the man not warranting even a shred of pity. 

What burned in Uther’s eyes was righteous anger; personal insult sparked at the knowledge that his people had been exploited so wrongfully by a man that he had unknowingly put into a position to do so. Aredian must have seen this, and decided he would receive more mercy by staying silent than by futilely putting up a defence. 

“And what punishment have you dealt?” Uther asked, his eyes never leaving the snivelling, hunched man before him. 

“Twenty-one lashes, compensation of every single coin he owes, and exile with return on pain of death.”

The king offered an alternative almost immediately. “Forty-two lashes, compensation, exile with return on pain of death,  _ and  _ a personal and  _ sincere  _ apology to every person he has wronged that is willing to put up with his presence long enough to hear it.”

Merlin blinked in surprise, and glanced at his prince, who looked equally as surprised. 

“That sounds more than sufficient, father,” Arthur agreed easily. 

“Guards!” Uther called, and a pair rushed into the hall. “Have Aredian escorted to a cell in the dungeons. He is to have twenty-one lashes today and twenty-one tomorrow. Gaius can attend to the wounds enough to stop him bleeding out, but that is all. Is that understood?” 

The guards nodded, and each took one of Aredian’s elbows, roughly pulling him to his feet. 

“Your Majesty-” Aredian began, desperation in his wide eyes.

“One more word out of you and I’ll double the lashes and the compensation. Now get him out of my sight,” Uther ordered. 

It wasn’t until the door shut behind the guards that Merlin released a tense breath, and realised how badly he had been shaking since he’d been put face-to-face with Aredian. 

Arthur eyed him in concern, placing his hand on the small of the servant’s lower back in an attempt to ground him and remind him that the prince would keep him safe. 

“I’m going to take Merlin back to his chambers, but thank you for hearing me out and letting me ask him some questions,” Arthur said, inclining his head respectfully towards his father. 

The king waved him off. “We both know that I didn’t really hear you out. I let you talk to Aredian in order to prove that your servant was manipulating you, but that wasn’t the case,” Uther looked to Merlin, meeting his eye, “I appreciate you informing Arthur of how dire the situation was. I may not be known to have had the kindest reign as a king, but I will always do everything in my power to protect those that we have sworn to. I do not stand for such vile exploitation, not when it is coming from those that I had trusted and put in a position of authority.”

It was the closest to an apology he had ever heard the king give. 

“Thank you, your Majesty,” he said, sincerely. 

Arthur nodded to his father again, and then the pair left, the prince’s hand lifting from his lower back to take his hand when the hall door was closed behind them and they were out of view of the king. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope u liked it! last chapter will be up by the end of the week, so i'll see u then :)))))))))))


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as promised, here’s the finale chapter !

As it turns out, Arthur wasn’t escorting him back to his and Gaius’ chambers; rather, their hands stayed intertwined until they entered the prince’s chambers. Arthur gestured for Merlin to sit at the table, and sat opposite his servant, offering him the plate of food that had been brought up for the prince’s dinner. The servant politely declined, and so the food was left to cool between them, small tendrils of steam curling through the air. 

“You were scared of him,” Arthur said gently. “You were shaking when he was taken away- I didn’t know if you’d like to talk about it. You don’t have to . . . but if you want to, I’m here.”

Merlin sighed, knowing that he could never deny Arthur anything. 

“You know Aredian gave some staff food in exchange for sex?” He asked, blunt about what exactly was being asked of the staff, but unable to face the concern that he knew would be on Arthur’s face. “He asked me, too.”

Those four words had the prince’s heart pounding in his chest. He squeezed the servant’s hand, hoping it would convey at least some of the support he wished to offer. 

“He was clever about it,” Merlin continued, his voice quiet. “He knew Gaius was making me share his food, pointed out that Gaius would have more energy if he was eating as much as he should be. He mentioned all the people that he wouldn’t have to ask this of-” the servant’s voice closed up with emotion, so he took a few deep breaths and the weight of his friend’s hand in his grounded him somewhat. “H-he mentioned the young girls that needed food, told me that he wouldn’t need to ask this of them, if I just did it and gave them the food I’d get.”

Arthur felt his stomach tighten with nausea when Merlin finally looked him in the eye and he saw the pain etched there. 

When Merlin next spoke, his voice was threaded with shame- shame that Arthur wished had never been there to start with, and vowed to do anything to eradicate. 

“I said I would. I told him that I’d do it if he promised to stay away from the girls. I was going to meet him tonight.”

Relief that Merlin had never had to follow through on the arrangement had Arthur deflating.

“Oh thank the Gods,” he breathed. “I’m so sorry you had to go through thinking about what would happen.”

The servant shrugged half-heartedly, “He’d already convinced four of the youngest girls and one of the boys. I was just trying to protect the rest.”

“You did everything you could,” he reminded him, pulling the dark-haired man into his arms. 

For a long while, they just sat with their arms tangled around each other. Merlin’s head was turned into the prince’s neck, each of his warm breaths felt by the blonde, as Arthur absently ran his fingertips in light circles between the servant’s bony shoulder blades. 

Eventually, Merlin shook his head, as though in silent conversation with himself, and pulled away. He stood and shakily exhaled. 

“I didn’t do everything I could,” Merlin said, and it took Arthur a few moments to collect his thoughts and piece the sentence with what he’d said earlier. He noticed that the servant was shaking, and alarm bells started ringing in the back of his mind. 

“You did,” he attempted to reassure, but the servant ignored him. The prince noticed Merlin physically collecting himself, drawing his chin up a little, spreading his feet a bit wider apart, his eyes hardening just infinitesimally. Unbidden, nervousness coiled in his stomach, as if awaiting a physical attack. 

“I  _ didn’t _ ,” Merlin insisted. “I could have stopped him.”

He took another deep breath before turning to face the unlit fireplace. He pushed a hand towards it, and his eyes glowed golden as fire crackled into life on the wood that had been left there. Arthur jolted out of his seat, hastily stepping away from both Merlin and the now-roaring fire. 

“Merlin!” He exclaimed, his heart racing. “What the hell are you doing?” 

Like a match dropped into a bucket of water, the golden glow in his irises extinguished and he threw both hands up in surrender. 

“ _ I could have stopped him _ ,” Merlin repeated desperately, as if Arthur was missing the point entirely, his expressive eyes now glistening with unshed tears. “ _ I could have stopped him. _ ”

“Merlin . . .” he trailed off, unsure of what to say. His heart was still racing from the shock, but he was surprised to realise that he felt no fear. Merlin would never hurt him, the same way that Arthur could never hurt  _ him _ . “You would have been executed. Aredian would have told my father, and my father would have executed you. You did everything you  _ could.” _

Silence fell between them as they collected their thoughts.

“You could have told me,” Arthur settled on, his voice carefully even.

A single tear fell down the servant’s pale cheeks at the words before he rubbed his eyes with his knuckles to clear them. When he looked back at Arthur, his face was resigned.

“I wanted to, Arthur, truly. But I didn’t want you in a position where you had to choose between protecting me or telling your father,” he said earnestly. For some reason, Merlin’s doubt in Arthur’s unwavering loyalty to their friendship irked the prince beyond words. 

“ _ There wouldn’t have been a decision to make _ !” Arthur shouted, anger making his blood pump so quickly he could hear it rushing in his ears.

A choked sob escaped Merlin as the dark-haired man fell to his knees, head bent so he was looking at the floor. He held his wrists together and away from his body, offering them to Arthur. 

“Iron cuffs keep my magic from being used,” he hiccuped, but his voice was devoid of emotion. “I promise I won’t offer any struggle. I just wanted Aredian to be stopped, and then I wanted to be honest with you about who I am. I don’t want you to think I was acting bravely, because I could have stopped him from hurting the others. But I couldn’t risk not being here to protect you from harm if I got caught.”

The prince blinked, feeling like he’d made a mistake somewhere, but not knowing where. 

“Merlin,” he began, and the servant still didn’t look up from the floor. Arthur knelt in front of him, using a fingertip to guide Merlin’s face to look at him. “I meant that I would never have to choose, because it’s  _ you _ , Merlin. There are no lengths I wouldn’t go to in order to protect you.”

Through tear-blurred vision, Merlin saw the sincerity etched into every line of his prince’s face, and clasped their hands together tightly. 

“My magic is for you, Arthur, only for you,” he vowed. “There is a prophecy from the druids, that you will unite of all Albion as its Once and Future King, and I am destined to serve by your side to help you.”

Arthur simply blinked again, processing the magnitude of his friend’s words. 

“I don’t want you  _ serving  _ by my side,” he said, pressing a soft kiss to Merlin’s lips. “I want you  _ by my side _ , as an equal. As a partner . . . if you’ll have me?”

Merlin huffed a breath of laughter, before kissing Arthur.

“ _ Yes _ , you clotpole, I thought you’d never ask” he murmured between kisses. “ _ Yes _ . But what about your father?”

Arthur shrugged. “He noticed our actions around each other a few months ago, and summoned me to his chamber to order me to have you fired. I refused. He didn’t take it well, arguing about heirs and such, but I reminded him of the many, many affairs I’d discovered he’d had whilst my mother was still alive- and that the Camelot’s people adored their queen. It would be so unfortunate for them to find out that their king betrayed her so greatly while she was carrying his only child. So my father’s not an issue beyond how much he’ll try to passive aggressively- or perhaps just aggressively- insult you, but he can’t do anything past that.” The prince smirked at him, “so just  _ how  _ are we going to mark the occasion?”

Merlin snorted. “I think I have an idea,” he said, before intertwining their hands and pulling the blonde over to his bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope u liked it! the kudos and comments so far have been making my day, thank u for the love 💕💕

**Author's Note:**

> chapter 2 will probably be up in a couple of days, i just have a few uni assignments to finish first, hope you liked chapter 1 xx


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